o 
in 

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Our  Duty  to  the  African  Race. 


ADDRESS 


DELIVERED  AT  WASHINGTON,  D.  C 


January  21,  1851, 


BALTIMORE: 

PRINTED  BY  W.  M.  INNKS, 

ADAMS   KXPRKSS   BVILDIXO. 


Our  Duty  to  the  African  Race. 


ADDRESS 

DELIVERED  AT  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
January  31,  1851, 


BY 


RICHARD   ETJLLER. 


•    »       O  I 


BALTIMORE: 

PRINTED  BY  W.  M.  INNES 

EXPRESS   BUILDING. 
1851. 


E+4-i 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  January  21,  1851. 

The  Colonization  Society  met  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  A  vast  audience  crowded 
every  spot  in  the  building — multitudes  ut.able  to  gain  admission.  Mr.  CLAY  presided  for 
the  last  time.  He  delivered  a  noble  speech,  and  then  introduced  Rev.  Dr.  FULLER,  who 
spoke  as  Follows : 


ADDRESS. 


MR.  PRESIDENT  AND  FELLOW  CITIZENS — 

An  humble  pastor,  occupied  with  the  spiritual  cares  and  labors  of  my 
ministry  in  Baltimore,  I  have  declined  all  invitations  to  visit  other  cities 
for  the  purpose  of  addressing  public  meetings.  I  have  found  the  duties  of 
my  charge  enough,  and  more  than  enough,  for  all  my  time.  As  I  am  not 
a  member  of  any  Colonization  Society,  I  was  somewhat  surprised  on  re 
ceiving  the  kind  request  of  your  board  to  meet  with  you  to-night.  I  felt 
and  appreciated  the  honor  done  me.  But  I  felt  much  more:  I  esteemed 
it  a  call  from  God  to  enlist  myself  in  an  enterprise,  the  importance,  the 
grandeur,  nay,  I  will  say  the  absolute  necessity,  of  which,  ought,  I  hum 
bly  think,  to  be  perceived  by  every  citizen  of  this  Union.  I  ask  permis 
sion,  therefore,  to  express  myself  with  the  utmost  freedom,  as  I  utter  only 
my  own  sentiments,  and  speak  for  no  particular  Society, — but  for  Colo 
nization  at  large. 

I  am  a  Southern  man,  and  surely  your  Society  ought  to  be  as  popular 
with  the  whole  South  as  it  is  in  Virginia,  Georgia,  and  other  Southern 
States.  It  was  originated  by  Southern  influence.  Its  object  is  the  re- 
tromission  to  Africa  of  free  colored  persons  who  desire  to  go  there.  To 
this  article  of  its  constitution  your  Society  has  strictly  adhered.  Indeed, 
it  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  this  article  can  ever  be  violated.  Why  then 
should  any  man  at  the  South  object  to  this  undertaking?  And  is  it  not 
most  strange  that  men  at  the  North  should  proclaim  themselves  the  friends 
of  the  African  race,  and  yet  resist  and  calumniate  an  association  formed 
for  such  a  purpose? 

Mr.  President,  patriotism  was  once  a  word  of  high  and  holy  import.  It 
was,  in  the  ancient  States  of  Greece,  a  sort  of  religion,  a  loyalty  to  coun 
try,  which  mastered  and  controlled  all  other  feelings.  All  other  relations — 
of  parent,  and  husband,  and  child—were  subordinated  to  the  relation 
which  existed  between  the  citizen  and  the  State.  Patriotism  was  once  a 
term  of  glorious  emphasis.  Would  that  it  had  the  same  sublime  meaning 

M226633 


now;  it  would  enlist  multitudes  in  your  noble  enterprise.  But  Jesus  has 
shown  us  a  higher  duty  than  even  that  which  a  patriot  owes  to  his  coun 
try.  It  is  our  duty  to  man  as  man.  Before  the  Saviour's  advent  patriot 
ism  was  the  chief  virtue;  he  taught  us  philanthrophy.  As  far  as  we  catch 
his  spirit  and  embody  it  in  our  benevolence,  so  far,  I  humbly  conceive, 
shall  we  have  the  blessing  of  Him  who  has  all  power  in  his  hands  to  pros 
per  or  defeat  our  plans.  And  it  is  to  the  Christian  philanthropist  that 
Colonization  is  an  object  of  the  profoundest  interest. 

I  wish,  first  to  consider  the  subject  before  us,  with  reference  to  the  col 
ored  population  in  the  United  States  who  are  free.  I  ask  what  is  to  be 
done  with  them  and  for  them?  What  plan  can  compare  with  yours,  which 
opens  for  them  a  land  of  promise,  and  this  not  a  land  wrested  from  stran 
gers,  but  the  very  country  assigned  to  their  race  by  God. 

Why,  sir,  if  we  look  merely  at  what  is  physical,  how  desirable  such  a 
change  for  the  African.  The  climate  of  Africa  is  far  more  congenial  to 
his  nature  than  that  of  the  Northern  States.  And  in  these  States  what 
are  his  prospects?  Each  wave  is  wafting  to  our  shores  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  hardy  emigrants,  with  whom  the  negro  cannot  compete;  white 
men  who  are  preferred,  and  who,  moreover,  have  been  inured  to  an  inde- 
fatigableuess  of  labor,  a  severity  of  diet,  a  thrift  and  parsimony,  which  the 
negro  cannot,  or  will  not  endure.  No  one  caja  now  visit  any  of  the  North 
ern  cities,  after  an  absence  of  ten  years,  without  being  struck  with  the 
fact,  that  the  German  and  Irishman  have  superseded,  or  are  superseding, 
the  colored  man  in  every  occupation  by  which  the  laboring  classes  procure 
a  livelihood. 

But,  in  my  estimate,  the  physical  evils  to  which  one  may  be  exposed 
by  any  disadvantages  are  nothing  compared  with  the  moral  evils ;  and  in 
this  view,  is  there  a  friend  of  the  free  colored  man  who  can  advise  him  to 
remain  in  this  country,  when  such  prospects  open  to  him  in  another? 

Fanatics  may  rave,  recite,  and  madden  round  the  land,  and  expectorate 
rhapsodies  about  color  being  no  crime.  Nobody  says  it  is  a  crime.  It  does, 
however,  and  it  always  will,  form  a  distinction  of  caste,  the  barriers  of 
which  cannot  be  broken  down.  The  African  may  be  rich,  may  educate 
his  family,  may  have  a  vote,  but  all  this  will  only  awaken  him  to  a  more 
painful  consciousness  of  his  abasement.  He  never  will  enjoy  social  equal 
ity  with  the  white  race  in  this  country.  He  and  his  posterity  will  be,  and 
will  always  feel  themselves  to  be,  a  degraded  people. 

And  now,  who  but  sees  the  sad  consequences,  the  moral  evils,  of  this 
felt  degradation.  In  the  first  place,  such  a  condition  of  conscious  inferi 
ority  must  impair,  if  it  does  not  wholly  destroy,  all  self-respect.  No  man 
will  long  resist  the  power  of  testimony,  when  it  is  the  testimony  of  all 


around  him  ;  and  what  is  the  testimony  which  is  uttered  in  society,  every 
where,  with  reference  to  the  African  ?  How  can  he  rise  superior  to  that 
public  opinion  which  he  sees,  and  hears,  and  feels,  every  moment,  in  the 
conduct  of  everybody  ?  He  lives  and  moves  and  has  his  being  amidst 
humiliation.  His  whole  life  is  a  life  of  humiliation.  His  spirit  will  cower 
and  sink.  He  cannot  recognize  in  himself  what  every  body  denies  him. 
He  may  struggle  on,  but  he  cannot  elevate  himself  above  the  class  with 
which  he  is  identified.  He  will  estimate  himself  by  the  estimation  in 
which  he  is  held  by  others. 

In  the  next  place,  what  chance  have  the  colored  free  population  in  this 
country  to  develop  the  powers  of  intellect  which  God  has  bestowed  upon 
them  ?  Many,  I  know,  deny  to  the  African  the  possession  of  powers 
which  can  by  any  cultivation  raise  him  to  an  intellectual  equality  with  the 
white  man.  But  to  this  objection  there  are  several  satisfactory  answers. 

First,  such  an  argument  can  be  received  only  in  the  school  of  infideli 
ty;  for  the  Bible  declares  that  the  whole  human  family  have  sprung 
from  a  common  parentage.  Then,  when  and  where  have  Christianity  and 
civilization  and  education  given  the  black  man  a  fair  trial  ?  Certainly  not 
in  the  British  West  Indies ;  for  there  the  negroes  are  little  better  than 
slaves  still.  Not  in  St.  Domingo,  where  misplaced  confidence  in  other  and 
older  nations  has  constantly  been  fomenting  civil  disorder.  Nor  in  these 
United  States,  for  in  not  one  of  them  does  the  colored  man  feel  nor  can 
he  ever  feel,  the  stimulus  to  intellectual  cultivation. 

The  most  conclusive  answer  to  this  objection,  however,  is  furnished  by 
a  simple  fact.  I  refer  to  the  Republic  of  Liberia,  which,  though  but  of 
yesterday,  has  already  commanded  the  respect  of  the  oldest  cabinets  of 
Europe,  and  has  taken  her  place  among  the  nations.  The  state  papers  of 
that  young  Republic  seem  to  me  to  compare  well  enough  with  similar 
documents  here.  And  the  last  message  of  her  governor  is  really  superior 
in  good  sense,  and  talent,  and  literary  merit,  to  such  communications 
sometimes  emanating  from  the  executive  departments  of  our  States. 

I  think  no  impartial  person  will  deny  to  the  African  powers  of  intellect, 
which,  if  cultivated,  would  raise  him  to  an  equality  with  other  men.  But 
these  faculties  can  never  be  unfolded  in  this  country.  Can  he  look  for 
ward  to  the  future  with  hope  ?  Is  the  Bar,  the  Pulpit,  the  Medical  Chair, 
open  to  him  ?  Will  he  ever  be  permitted  to  take  his  seat  in  Congress, 
and  aspire  to  the  offices  and  honors  which  this  nation  bestows  ?  In  a 
word,  and  what  is  of  more  importance  than  all  to  the  expansion  of  the 
mind,  can  he  ever  feel  the  quickening,  invigorating  influence  of  the  high 
est  literary  society  ?  To  propose  these  questions  is  to  answer  them  And 
how  sad  a  misfortune  to  a  rational  being,  that,  in  himself  and  his  posterity, 
all  the  noble  powers  of  intellect  must  be  forever  crushed. 


6 

I  mention  only  a  single  other,  but  very  sore,  calamity  of  the  free 
colored  people  in  this  country.  They  are  not  only  an  inferior  caste, 
but  a  separate  and  distinct  race ;  and  are  in  daily  contact  with  a 
people  who  enjoy,  beyond  all  people,  the  very  advantages  which  are  denied 
to  them.  Let  a  man  be  a  white  man.  and,  in  this  country,  he  need  cot 
look  up  to  any  one  as  his  superior  by  birth.  There  is  no  appointment, 
no  honor,  no  eminence,  to  which  he  'may  not  elevate  himself.  The 
proudest  places  in  the  land  have  been,  and  are,  adorned  by  men  who 
have  been  the  architects  of  their  own  greatness,  winning  their  way  amidst 
a  thousand  obstacles,  by  the  patient  force  of  a  true  heart  and  unconquera 
ble  will.  All  this  the  black  man  knows  and  sees.  He  sees  and  knows, 
too,  that  it  his  color  only,  that  color  given  him  by  God,  which  excludes 
him  and  his  posterity  from  this  noble  and  ennobling  competition.  And 
now,  what  must  be  the  effect  upon  his  character  ?  It  is  impossible  but 
that  the  worst  feelings,  envy,  hatred,  vindictiveness,  will  secretly  work  in 
his  bosom,  rendering  him  unhappy  in  himself,  and  dangerous  to  the  coun 
try.  Already  have  we  had  fearful  premonitions  flashing  up  here  and 
there ;  and  rest  assured,  nothing  but  fear  represses  the  utterance,  deep 
and  loud,  of  passions,  which  are  only  the  more  fierce,  because,  as  yet, 
they  can  have  no  vent.  If  the  free  African  is  to  remain  in  this  country, 
he  must  either  enjoy  social  equality  and  amalgamate  with  the  white  race, 
which  is  impossible,  or  he  will  be  discontented,  unhappy,  and  will  be  ulti 
mately  exterminated.  He  would  not  be  fit  for  freedom,  he  would  not  be 
a  man,  if  he  could  be  satisfied  with  his  position. 

Up  to  this  point,  Mr.  President,  I  have  confined  my  remarks  to  the 
colored  population  who  are  free.  If  this  enterprise  contemplated  only 
them,  it  would  be  most  wise,  and  patriotic  and  benevolent.  I  was  glad, 
the  other  day,  to  see  that  State  in  which  I  first  drew  breath,  and  which 
must  ever  be  dear  to  me — I  was  glad  to  see  South  Carolina  rejecting  a 
proposition  to  drive  her  free  colored  people  from  her  borders.  I  hope  she 
will  yet  unite  with  Georgia,  and  Tennessee,  and  Virginia,  and  my  adopted 
State,  Maryland,  in  the  great  work  of  transporting  that  portion  of  our 
population,  with  their  consent,  to  a  congenial  home. 

All  good  men,  Mr.  President,  have  mourned  that  this  metropolis  is  so 
often  the  scene  of  wrath,  bitterness,  malice  and  strife,  among  those  who 
are  descended  from  such  ancestors  as  the  founders  of  this  commonwealth, 
who  are  bound  together  by  such  ties,  and  ought  to  love  as  brethren.  Let 
us  rejoice  that  to-night  all  is  peace  and  love  here — love  to  God,  to  each 
other,  and  to  the  whole  human  race — that  to-night  we  are  gathered,  not 
on  an  arena  for  sectional  contests  and  conflicts,  but  in  a  temple  where, 
with  one  heart  and  one  inind,  we  wish  to  consult  for  the  success  of  an 
enterprise,  whose  moral  grandeur  turns  into  contempt  all  the  petty  and 
ephemeral  questions  of  selfish  intrigue  and  political  ambition. 


I  wish,  now,  to  speak  of  colonization  with  reference  to  another  class  of 
Africans.  I  allude  to  those  who  are  slaves,  but  whom  the  master  may  de 
sire  to  send  to  Liberia  or  some  other  asylum.  I  am  a  Southern  man.  In 
the  providence  of  God  a  number  of  these  people  have  been  confided  to 
me.  I  may,  therefore  speak  on  the  subject.  I  deeply  deplore  the  mis 
chief  which  has  been  done  by  the  fanatical  agitation  of  this  great  question 
at  the  North.  Even  Dr.  Channing  says  of  the  abolitionists,  "They  have 
done  wrong,  I  believe;  nor  is  their  wrong  to  be  winked  at  because  done 
fanatically,  or  with  good  intentions;  for  how  much  mischief  may  be 
wrought  with  good  designs!  They  have  fallen  into  the  common  error  of 
enthusiasts,  that  of  exaggerating  their  object,  of  feeling  as  if  no  evil 
existed  but  that  which  they  opposed,  and  as  if  no  guilt  could  be  compared 
with  that  of  countenancing  and  upholding  it.  The  tone  of  .their  news 
papers,  as  far  as  I  have  seen  them,  has  often  been  fierce,  bitter,  and  abu 
sive." 

While,  however,  I  speak  thus  of  Northern  fanaticism,  I  must  be  per 
mitted  to  say,  that  I  think  there  is  a  morbid  sensitiveness  at  the  South 
with  reference  to  slavery.  It  was  not  so  once.  You  remember,  sir,  when 
it  was  not  so.  We  have  documents  showing  that  religious  bodies,  and  po 
litical  bodies,  in  the  Slave  States,  used  formerly  to  discuss  the  subject 
freely.  And  we  at  the  South  ought  still  to  discuss  it.  While  we  repel 
all  impertinent  intermeddling,  we  owe  it  to  ourselves  not  to  allow  such  im 
pertinence  to  move  us  from  a  calm,  generous,  and  conscientious  discharge 
of  our  duty.  And  if  such  measures  were  adopted  by  Congress,  as  a  wise, 
just,  benevolent  government  ought,  in  my  judgment,  to  adopt,  I  am  confi 
dent  there  are  multitudes  in  the  Southern  States  who  would  at  once  throw 
all  their  influence  in  favor  of  Colonization,  and  bring  to  the  cause  a  noble 
spirit  of  disinterestedness  and  sacrifice. 

Mr.  President,  I  sincerely  hope  that,  after  the  late  storm,  the  tendency 
of  the  political  elements  is  to- repose.  When  Chancellor  Oxenstiern's  son 
declined  a  place  in  the  councils  of  Sweden,  on  account  of  his  inexperience, 
that  sagacious  old  statesman  said,  "  Go  see,  quam  parva  sapientia  regitur 
mundns."  Go  see,  by  how  little  wisdom  the  world  is  governed.  And  we 
must  remember  this  proverb.  The  speeches  delivered  in  Congress  and 
our  State  Legislatures,  are  not  always  true  exponents  of  the  calm  good 
sense,  the  conservatism  and  patriotism  of  the  people.  In  spite  of  certain 
symptoms  and  presages,  I  hope  that  the  late  crisis  has  passed.  Nobody, 
however,  can  suppose  that  the  danger  to  this  Union  has  passed.  The  true 
peril  is  one  which  politicians,  I  fear,  overlook.  It  is  in  the  religious  con 
victions  and  sentiments  of  the  entire  North  witJi  reference  to  slavery.  Even 
if  a  statesman  were  an  infidel,  he  must  remember  that  the  people  are  not. 


8 

The  Bible  is  the  lex  legum,  the  law  of  laws,  and  must  ultimately  decide  all 
controversies  in  this  country.  Politics  is  the  science  of  compromises,  but 
religion  allows  no  compromise  with  evil.  And  there  will  be  a  deep  and 
deepening  feeling  at  the  North,  a  consequent  resentment  at  the  South,  and 
a  growing  estrangement  between  North  and  South,  until  something  is  done 
to  meet  the  religious  sentiments  connected  with  slavery.  As  a  political 
question,  slavery  has  in  it  nothing  very  exciting  or  alarming.  But  we  are 
a  religious  people,  and  slavery  is,  and  will  ever  be,  a  subject  of  intense  re 
ligious  feeling. 

Now,  viewing  slavery  in  the  light  of  religion,  it  seems  to  me  there  are 
some  points  which  the  North  ought  seriously  to  ponder. 

First,  the  South  are  not  responsible  for  the  introduction  of  negroes  into 
this  country.  It  was  in  spite  of  the  solemn  protestations  of  many  of  the 
Colonies.  In 'the  next  place,  the  African  has  been  vastly  improved,  in 
every  physical  view,  by  his  transplantation.  The  African  here  is  an  entirely 
superior  animal  to  the  African  on  his  native  continent.  And  as  to  com 
forts,  I  speak  from  personal  observation,  when  I  say  that,  with  a  kind 
master,  the  slave  population  are  more  happy,  and  contented,  and  better 
cared  for  than  a  large  portion  of  the  laboring  classes  in  Europe.  The 
other  morning  I  had  to  leave  Baltimore  for  Washington  before  daylight. 
I  left  my  servants  in  warm  beds,  with  no  idea  of  rising  before  the  sun,  and 
then  to  be  clad  as  warmly  as  myself,  and  to  fare  as  I  fare.  I  met  near  the 
Depot  an  Irishman,  who,  though  the  morning  was  bitter,  stood  thinly  clad, 
and  shivering  with  cold.  Upon  inquiring,  I  found  that  he  regarded  him 
self  as  uncommonly  fortunate  in  securing  the  place  he  filled  in  connection 
with  the  rail-road.  He  was  enabled,  he  said,  to  pay  his  rent  monthly,  to 
buy  his  fuel,  and  to  supply  his  family  with  food.  But,  to  do  this,  he  had 
to  be  at  his  post  every  day,  the  Sabbath  not  excepted,  by  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  to  be  occupied  till  night.  An  overcoat  was  a  luxury  of 
which  he  never  thought.  When  I  compared  the  lot  of  this  man  with  that 
of  a  slave  whose  master  is  kind,  I  felt  that  no  friend  of  humanity,  looking 
only  to  his  physical  condition,  would  wish  the  negro  to  change  places  with 
this  laborer. 

It  is,  however,  the  religious  blessings  enjoyed  by  the  African  in  this 
country  which  are  the  most  important.  And  upon  this  point  let  me  state 
what  I  believe  to  be  a  fact  clearly  ascertained.  At  all  the  Missionary  Sta 
tions  together  there  are,  at  this  time,  about  56,000  professed  converts  from 
Paganism  to  Christianity.  The  Methodist,  Presbyterian,  and  Baptist 
Churches,  in  the  Slave  States,  contain  about  350,000  colored  members. 
If  these  Africans  had  remained  in  their  native  land,  probably  not  one  of 
them  would  ever  have  heard  the  sound  of  the  Gospel.  By  their  trans- 


9 

portation  to  this  country,  five  times  as  many  souls  are  to-day  believers  iii 
Jesus  Christ,  as  are  to  be  found  in  all  the  Missionary  Churches  together. 

These  facts  all  candid  men  at  the  North  must  admit,  and  they  ought 
surely  to  silence  much  of  that  clamor  which  has  been  raised  about  the 
abominations  of  slavery.  But,  now,  while  the  North  ought  to  admit  all 
this,  there  are  some  things  which  we  at  the  South  ought  also  candidly  to 
admit.  I  know,  sir,  that  man  is  fallen,  and  that  he  would  not  be  fallen  if 
he  at  onee  opened  his  eyes  to  unwelcome  truths.  But,  after  all,  I  might 
confidently  ask  our  statesmen,  if  they  can  travel  at  the  North  and 
South,  without  feeling  that  while  slavery  enriches  the  individual,  it  im 
poverishes  and  desolates  the  State,  and  fosters  indolence  and  luxury,  vices 
which  have  ever  been  the  bane  of  nations?  I  might  shew  that  in  case 
of  invasion  by  a  free  people,  slavery  would  not  be  to  us  an  element 
of  strength,  as  has  been  affirmed,  but  would  be — what  it  was  to  the 
Roman  Empire  under  the  inroads  of  the  Northmen — a  source  of 
weakness,  perplexity  and  danger.  I  might  appeal  to  every  Christian, 
whether,  when  God  says  " Search  the  Scriptures"  the  human  mind  ought 
to  be  shut  up  from  reading  those  Scriptures  ?  Whether,  when  Jesus  says 
"  What  God  hath  joined  together  let  not  man  put  asunder"  the  marriage  tie 
ought  to  be  dissolved  ?  I  might  inquire  of  every  upright  man,  whether 
labor  ought  not  to  be  compensated  ?  In  a  conversation  with  that  orna 
ment  of  his  country,  the  late  Mr.  Calhoun,  he  expressed  the  opinion  that 
we  do  pay  fair  wages.  I  will  not  go  into  the  calculation.  It  is  the  prin 
ciple  with  which  I  have  to  do.  In  short,  to  a  generous  soul,  perfect  de 
pendence  is  an  irresistible  plea  for  protection;  and,  left  to  their  own  free, 
innate,  generous  impulses,  I  hope  that  Southern  planters  are  the  very  men 
to  admire  and  imitate  the  Antonines  and  other  Roman  Emperors,  who  be 
came  guardians  of  the  slaves,  and  extended  over  them  a  paternal  govern 
ment. 

I  will  not,  however,  insist  on  these  points.  The  only  concession  I  now 
urge  is  one  which  1  made  some  years  ago,  when  writing  to  Dr.  Wayland. 
and  against  which  I  heard  scarcely  an  objection.  It  is,  that  slavery  is  not 
good  thing,  and  a  thing  to  be  perpetuated.  I  believe,  sir,  there  are  few 
at  the  South  who  would  hesitate  about  making  this  concession,  and,  if  this 
concession  were  made,  might  not  this  great  nation  interpret  and  under 
stand  itself?  Would  it  not  be  oil  upon  the  waters,  a  bow  of  promise  in 
our  troubled  sky  ?  Might  we  not  hope  that  an  equilibrium  would  be 
restored  in  our  political  atmosphere,  and  the  dangerous  clouds  now  lower 
ing  in  our  horizon  be  forever  buried  in  the  deep  bosom  of  the  ocean  ? 

If  these  concessions  were  made  at  the  North  and  South;  if,  in  one 
quarter,  fanaticism  would  cease  to  denounce  every  slaveholder  as  a  mons- 


10 

ter  of  iniquity ;  and  if,  in  another  quarter,  fanaticism  would  cease  to  ad 
vocate  the  perpetuation  of  slavery  as  a  blessing,  it  seems  to  me  that  a 
middle  ground,  a  platform  of  peace  and  brotherly  feeling  might  be  found, 
upon  which  all  good  men  could  meet,  and,  in  the  spirit  of  a  large  and 
generous  philanthropy,  consult  as  to  the  duty  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  to 
wards  this  other  race  who  are  now  among  them.  The  question  is  certainly 
a  most  delicate  and  difficult  one.  False  as  are  many  of  Machiavelli's  doc 
trines,  he  uttered  a  profound  truth  when  he  said,  that  "  To  make  a  servile 
people  free  is  as  difficult  as  to  make  a  free  people  slaves." 

So  far,  we  at  the  South,  who  are  seeking  earnestly  to  know  our  duty, 
can  see  no  change,  contemplating  the  residence  of  such  a  vast  number  of 
Africans  amongst  us,  which  we  regard  as  worthy  of  our  attention.  Nay, 
we  see  none  which  we  do  not  consider  most  calamitous  to  both  races.  Tf 
the  large  and  increasing  black  population  at  the  South  are  to  stay  there, 
it  must  be  as  slaves  or  as  masters.  In  States  where  there  were  only  a  few 
of  these  people,  and  where  slavery  was  becoming  an  expense,  laws  were 
enacted  for  the  prospective  extinction  of  the  institution.  Such  laws  will 
not  be  passed  at  the  South.  Upon  or*r  rich  lands  slave  labor  is  the 
cheapest  and  most  profitable  labor,  and  society  would  be  subverted  by  the 
manumission  of  such  a  multitude  belonging  to  another  race.  Moreover,  if 
any  movement  is  ever  made  in  behalf  of  the  slave,  it  must  be  under  the 
influence  of  Christian  principle;  but  all  these  legislative  interpositions 
have  been  purely  political.  The  object  has  been  to  rid  the  State  of  an 
evil.  Such  Acts  of  Assemblies  are  really  notifications  to  slaveholders  to 
remove  their  slaves  farther  South,  before  a  certain  period.  As  a  Chris 
tian,  I  have  no  sympathy  with  any  such  plans.  They  overlook  the  slave, 
and  seek  the  good  of  the  community.  They  proceed  as  if  man  was  made 
for  the  good  of  society,  and  not  society  for  the  good  of  man.  They  re 
verse  the  ethics  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  place  patriotism  above  philanthropy. 
With  the  Bible  in  my  hands,  I  feel  that  a  single  immortal  human  being- 
has  a  nobleness  far  exceeding  that  of  this  whole  nation,  as  a  nation;  but 
all  these  enactments  regard  the  human  being  as  little,  the  State  as  every 
thing. 

In  looking  to  the  British  West  Indies,  we  see  nothing  to  invite  us  to 
imitate  the  policy  there  pursued.  In  fact,  I  do  not  regard  the  experiment 
there  as  a  fair  one.  The  movement  there  was  not  a  free,  spontaneous, 
generous  impulse,  originating  a  noble  enterprise.  It  was  forced  upon  the 
masters.  Hence,  they  yielded  everything  mutinously.  And  what  was 
yielded  grudgingly,  was  received  ungraciously,  and  doggedly,  with  no  grat 
itude  to  the  masters,  but  with  a  feeling  of  aversion  to  them,  as  tyrants  who 
had  been  compelled,  by  a  diatant  government,  to  do  this  tardy  and  reluc 
tant  justice. 


11 

For  the  African  in  this  country,  if  he  is  ever  to  be  liberated  and  eleva 
ted,  there  is  but  one  hope.  It  is  Colonization.  I  turn,  and  turn,  and 
turn,  aud  see  scarcely  a  ray  of  light  in  any  other  quarter.  At  a  very 
early  period  I  find  the  State  of  Virginia  applying  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  to  know  if  a  tract  of  land  could  be  procured  on  our  West 
ern  frontier,  as  a  settlement  for  the  free  blacks.  Not  very  long  after 
wards  a  most  able  memorial  was  presented  to  Congress,  seeking  the  in 
terposition  of  the  National  Government,  for  the  purpose  of  transporting 
to  Africa  the  free  blacks  who  should  wish  to  go,  and  others  who  should 
be  manumitted  for  the  purpose  of  being  transferred  to  some  colony.* — 
Other  memorials  of  the  same  kind  have  since  been  presented,  and  reports 
have  been  made,  but  hitherto  the  great  work  has  been  carried  on  almost 
wholly  by  individual  generosity.  The  settlement  at  Liberia  is  not  a  Col 
ony  founded  by  a  Government;  it  is  a  young  nation,  reared,  and  fostered, 
nay,  created,  chiefly  by  private  Christian  philanthropy. 

The  time  has  now  come,  when  we  ought  not  to  invoke  in  vain  the  pa 
tronage  of  the  nation,  and  the  attention  of  the  whole  people,  to  this  grand 
enterprise.  The  power  of  Congress  to  make  appropriations  for  such  an 
object  can,  I  think,  be  easily  established.  And  shall  $300,000,000  be 
lavished  in  a  war  about  a  plat  of  some  few  square  miles,f  and  justice,  hu 
manity,  religion,  plead  in  vain  ?  Congress  has,  I  suppose,  been  hitherto 
reluctant  to  commit  the  nation  to  an  undertaking,  which  seemed  to  many 
a  chimerical,  Utopian  experiment.  But  this  thing  is  no  longer  an  experi 
ment.  There  stands  the  Republic  of  Liberia !  And  if  private  benevo 
lence  has  achieved  so  much,  what  cannot  be  accomplished  by  the  wisdom 

and  resources  of  this  nation. 

> 

I  wish,  sir,  I  had  time  to  read  letters  which  were  written  on  this  sub- 
ject;  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  General  Harper,  and  others,  when  your  Society  was 
first  organized.  These  wise  men  were  of  one  mind.  They  regarded  Col 
onization  by  this  Government  as  the  only  hope  for  the  free  colored  popu 
lation.  And  they  went  farther.  They  viewed  it  as  the  only  solution  of 
the  great  problem  now  before  us  with  reference  to  slavery. 

Mr.  President,  this  Society  recognizes  distinctly  the  rights  of  property 
claimed  by  the  South.  You  remarked,  when  first,  some  twenty  years  ago, 
you  took  the  chair  you  now  fill,  and  which  I  hope  you  may  long  live  to 
adorn,  that  you  and  others  were  members  only  upon  this  condition.  I  am 
a  Southern  man,  and  speak  as  such.  Tn  the  providence  of  God  I  am  a 
slaveholder.  And  it  is  as  a  Southern  man,  and  slaveholder,  that  I  feel  the 
deepest  interest  in  Colonization.  What  is  to  be  the  end  of  all  this?  such 

*See  Senate  Records,  for  the  proposal  of  Mr.  King  to  apply  the  proceeds  of  the  public- 
lands  to  this  object. 

tThe  Mexican  war. 


12 

is  the  question  which,  for  years,  has  been  the  subject  of  my  most  devout 
and  prayerful  solicitude.  Nor  can  I  see,  for  myself  and  for  hundreds  who 
feel  as  I  do,  any  answer,  unless  Congress  shall  meet  our  earnest  desires, 
and  wisely  and  nobly  employ  the  power  which  Congress  unquestionably 
possesses. 

The  great  body  of  the  Southern  people  prefer,  at  present,  to  hold  the 
sort  of  property  they  now  have.  And  their  rights  and  feelings  must  be 
most  sacredly  respected.  Surelj  men  ought  not  to  hold  office  under  the 
Constitution,  and  yet  disregard  the  articles  of  that  instrument  which  may 
happen  to  conflict  with  their  views.  For  such  persons  duty  is  plain. — 
Let  them  seek  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution.  Failing  in  this,  they, 
of  course,  are  involved  in  no  responsibility.  People  may  differ  as  to  the 
language  of  the  Bible  with  reference  to  slavery;  but  there  can  be  no  dif 
ference  as  to  the  precepts  of  the  Bible  requiring  obedience  to  the  laws. 

The  rights  of  the  South  must  be  untouched.  As  to  slavery,  whatever 
is  done  must  be  done  by  the  South.  They  are  responsible  to  God,  and  to 
(rod  only.  But,  sir,  there  are  many  at  the  South  who.  like  myself,  are 
willing  to  make  very  great  sacrifices,  if  we  can  see  a  way  open  to  enlighten, 
and  elevate  the  human  beings  committed  to  our  care ;  and  Congress  ought 
to  be  ready  to  make  large  appropriations  to  meet  these  cases.  Such  citi 
zens  have  a  right  to  expect  these  appropriations.  Year  after  year,  money 
is  voted  to  encourage,  and  aid,  every  improvement  in  the  arts  and  sciences. 
It  is  nothing  to  expend  thousands  upon  inventions,  not  only  to  benefit,  but 
to  destroy  our  race.  All  sorts  of  contrivances  for  exploding  gunpowder, 
and  projecting  the  missiles  of  death,  seek  and  find  favor  here.  Is  it  not 
time  to  apply  some  part  of  the  resources,  of  this  Government,  to  the  great 
est  of  all  improvements,  the  improvement  of  man  himself?  Surely  too, 
such  appropriations  are  due  to  the  slave.  This  country  ought  to  make 
some  reparation  to  Africa  for  the  wrongs  inflicted  upon  that  continent. 

I  have  said,  Mr.  President,  that  many  at  the  South  are  willing  to  make 
greater  sacrifices  than  any  abolitionist  ever  has  made,  or  would  make,  if 
they  can  thus  benefit  the  slave ;  and  that  the  govnrnment  ought  to  co-op 
erate  with  such  citizens.  But,  sir,  in  my  humble  judgment,  this  is  not 
all  which  the  government  ought  to  do.  I  venture  the  opinion,  that  this 
government  ought  to  go  much  farther.  I  am  no  statesman,  nor  politician. 
I  am  an  humble  minister  of  religion,  and  what  I  now  say  may,  at  first, 
seem  like  madness  to  politicians  and  statesmen.  But,  sir,  if  it  be  insani 
ty,  it  has  come  upon  me  as  insanity  never  comes,  by  the  most  calm,  pa 
tient,  protracted,  and  prayerful  contemplation  of  a  great  subject.  Let 
not  the  thought  I  throw  out  with  humility,  be  scouted,  then,  as  wild  and 
chimerical,  but  let  it  be  weighed  candidly. 


13 

I  am  supposing,  sir,  that  the  North  sincerely  desire  the  good  of  the 
slave,  and  are  willing  to  make  sacrifices  for  that  object;  but  feel  the  folly 
and  mischief  of  contributions  and  lectures,  since  the  destiny  of  the  slave 
is  entirely  in  .the  hands  of  his  master.  I  am  supposing,  too,  that  multi 
tudes  at  the  South  are  anxious  for  the  same  noble  consummation,  do  not 
desire  the  perpetuation  of  slavery,  but  see  only  ruin  to  themselves,  and 
their  slaves,  in  any  project  of  emancipation  in  their  power. 

Now,  sir,  supposing  such  a  state  of  things  to  exist,  and  I  believe  it 
does  exist  to  an  extent  of  which  we  have  no  conception,  could  not  the 
national  legislation  be  adapted  most  wisely,  and  with  the  happiest  results, 
to  such  an  emergency?  Sir,  I  am  not  given  to  circumlocution  and  indi 
rection,  when  I  have  any  thing  to  say;  and  what  I  mean  is  this.  It  seems 
to  me,  that  the  salvation  of  this  Union,  a  sacred  duty  to  Africa,  peace, 
harmony,  love,  and  justice,  all  invoke  the  interposition  of  the  nation,  not 
only  to  deport,  but  to  redeem  the  slaves  of  those  who  are  willing  thus  to 
enter  into  a  vast,  and  tedious,  but  most  glorious  enterprise. 

To  any  such  scheme  I  know  a  fiery  fanaticism  will  oppose  itself,  ex 
claiming,  "It  will  be  acknowledging  the  master's  right!"  But  is  this 
friendship  to  the  African?  The  right,  the  power,  exists.  No  earthly 
power  can  destroy  it.  And  is  not  the  liberation  and  happiness  of  a  single 
human  being,  of  more  consequence  than  the  discussion  of  an  abstract  and 
useless  dogma?  I  put  out  of  view  the  fact,  that  multitudes  of  the  slaves 
were  originally  purchased  from  Northern  men,  who  imported  them  into 
the  Southern  harbors.  I  ask  these  objectors  a  single  question.  Admit, 
as  you  say,  (a  calumny  which  I  deny  and  detest)  that  we  are  robbers.  If 
your  child  was  in  the  hands  of  robbers,  would  you  refuse  to  redeem  it? 
Would  you  harangue  about  the  right  of  the  robber,  and  allow  your  child 
to  remain  a  captive  ?* 

So  unhealthy  au  excitement  exists  at  the  South  that  there,  too,  any 
such  project  will  at  first  find  much  opposition.  And,  of  course,  as  far  as 
the  South  objects,  nothing  can  be  done;  for,  I  repeat  it  over  and  over,  no 
tampering  with  our  rights  will  be  permitted.  But  would  such  opposition 
be  reasonable  ? 

First,  we  at  the  South  are  constantly  asserting  the  right  of  each  indi 
vidual  to  do  what  he  will  with  his  own,  provided  he  do  not  interfere  with 
others.  And  the  exportation  of  my  slaves  would  really  benefit  my 
neighbor.  But  this  is  little.  The  interests,  the  preservation,  of  the 
South,  require  that  some  such  channel  be  one  day  opened,  and  a  draining 
commenced. 

*This  Government  has  redeemed  captives,  I  allude  to  the  Algerine  prisoners. 


14 

See!  Slave  territority  is  now  strictly  circumscribed.  The  slaves  are 
rapidly  increasing.  At  some  future  day  Texas  and  the  slave  States,  will 
be  overstocked.  What  then  ?  Why,  then  State  after  State  will  have  to 
protect  itself  against  the  introduction  of  negroes.  What  then  ?  Within 
the  borders  of  each  State,  the  African  will  multiply,  until  the  land  shall 
groan  under  the  load;  and,  instead  of  a  Bill  to  recover  fugitive  slaves, 
the  difficulty  will  be  to  recover  fugitive  masters.  The  North,  I  am  con 
fident,  do  not  desire  to  see  the  South  thus  ruined.  If  we  at  the  South  do 
not  perceive  this  approaching  evil,  we  are  blind.  If  we  see  it,  and,  either 
l)y  secession,  or  opposition,  defeat  all  attempts  to  anticipate  and  prevent  it, 
we  are  worse  than  blind,  we  are  infatuated. 

Looking,  then,  only  to  the  interest  of  the  South,  I  say, '  Vementi  occur- 
rite  morbo!  Meet  the  disease  while  it  is  coming  on!  And  do  not  meet 
it  with  opiates,  still  less,  with  stimulants.  Let  no  one,  however,  suppose 
that  I  am  speaking  only  for  the  South.  I  am  pleading  for  man  and  for 
God;  and  I  look  mainly  to  this  scheme,  for  the  ultimate  liberation  and 
elevation  of  the  African.*  The  Gospel  is  abroad,  and  is  everywhere 
triumphing.  That  Gospel  rebukes  the  madness  of  sudden  and  violent 
movements  in  such  a  cause.  The  Gospel  is  love.  This  love  is  now  alter 
ing  the  relation  between  master  and  slave.  It  will  gradually  melt  off  all 
servile  bonds,  and  cause  the  master  to  desire  to  let  the  slave  go  free.  And 
what  a  blessing  to  have  a  benignant  government,  ready  to  second  the 
wishes  of  the  master,  and  to  become  the  guardian  of  the  slave. 

Such  a  plan  would  daily  make  converts  among  Christians.  The  North, 
with  a  large  and  constantly  increasing  co-operation  from  the  South,  and 
finally  with  the  whole  South,  would  be  united  in  the  sublimest  enterprise 
which  ever  employed  the  wisdom  and  power  of  a  great  empire.  And 
though  the  pioneers  in  this  cause  at  the  South  might  have  to  encounter 
much  not  easy  to  be  borne;  yet  the  consciousnes  of  duty  discharged  can 
sustain  a  man  in  much;  God  can  support  and  console  a  man  in  all. 
Future  generations  would  honor  the  memory  of  such  persons;  and  in  them 
would  be  fulfilled  the  language  of  the  Saviour,  '  The  Fathers  persecuted 
the  prophets,  the  children  build  their  tombs  and  garnish  their  sepulchres.' 

I  feel,  Air.  President,  that  I  owe  on  apology  for  the  length  to  which  I 
have  gone,  unconscious  to  myself,  though  I  fear  not  without  the  conscious 
ness  of  this  audience,  crowded  as  it  is,  and  many  of  them  standing.  I 
have  said  nothing  of  the  vast  resources  and  the  commerce  of  Africa.  I 

*I  do  not  suppose  that' the  two  races  can  ever  be  entirely  separated.  Many  may  remain 
as  free  laborers.  We  must,  too,  never  overlook  the  shameful  but  glaring  fact,  that,  while 
legitimate  amalgamation  is  out  of  the  question,  the  two  races  are  amalgamating  everywhere 
throughout  the  country,  especially  in  the  slave  States,  by  illicit  intercourse,  and  the 
Ethiopian  is  thus  changing  his  skin. 


15 

have  not  alluded  to  the  able  report  of  a  distinguished  member  of  Con 
gress  now  present,  with  reference  to  a  line  of  steamers  to  Africa.  The 
days  of  miracles  are  past,  but  God  can  open  the  sea  to  facilitate  His 
purposes.  Nor  have  I  mentioned  the  slave  trade,  which  can  be  more 
effectually  suppressed  by  Colonization  than  by  the  combined  navies  of 
Great  Britain,  France  and  America. 

If  I  could  bring  the  minds  of  those  present,  especially  if  I  could  secure 
your  attention,  and  that  of  other  statesmen  whom  I  see  before  me,  to  the 
subject  which  presses  upon  me,  I  should  thank  God  and  take  courage. 
Perhaps  what  I  have  suggested  will  be  regarded  as  the  dream  of  a  vision 
ary.  In  the  popular  vocabulary,  wisdom  and  folly  often  mean  the  compli 
ance  or  non-compliance  of  our  views,  not  with  truth,  but  with  public 
opinion.  Hence,  the  first  insurrection  of  the  human  mind  against  any 
usurpation  of  society,  is  always  regarded  as  insanity.  "A  strange  man 
uttering  strange  things  !"  people  say  of  him  who  first  differs  from  the  mass 
around  him.  But  if  the  strange  things,  uttered  by  that  strange  man,  be 
true  things,  they  will  not  be  lost.  No  testimony,  however  feeble,  if  for 
great  principles,  can  wholly  be  lost.  It  will  awaken  an  echo  somewhere. 
And  I  am  persuaded  that  what  I  have  spoken  to-night,  with  great  diffi 
dence,  and  with  the  sympathy  of,  perhaps,  only  a  few  of  this  multitude, 
will,  one  day,  be  regarded,  not  as  the  chimera  of  an  enthusiast,  but  as  the 
language  of  soberness  and  truth.  And,  though  what  I  have  proposed 
would  require  a  vast  expenditure  and  many  years,  perhaps  centuries,  yet 
money  and  time  are  nothing  in  so  glorious  a  work.  Why,  sir,  the  interest 
on  the  national  debt  of  England  for  ten  years  would  purchase  every  slave 
in  this  country  at  a  fair  value.  And,  as  to  time,  chronic  evils  demand 
chronic  remedies.  God  has  admonished  us,  by  his  own  conduct,  that  all 
great  works  demand  time  and  patience.  In  creation,  in  redemption,  he 
proceeded  slowly.  It  is  only  little  and  contracted  and  foolish  men  who 
hope  to  do  anything  in  a  hurry. 

In  conclusion,  whatever  we  do, let  us  do  it  with  faith;  faith  in  God;  faith 
in  ourselves;  faith  in  our  cause.  No  element  in  human  conduct  con 
tributes  more  to  success  than  confidence  of  succeeding.  By  faith  Leonidas 
fought  and  fell  at  Thermopylae;  and  his  heroic  devotion  made  Greece  in 
vincible.  By  faith  Columbus  stood  intrepid  on  the  deck  of  a  frail  bark, 
while  around  him  all  was  discouragement  and  mutiny.  By  faith  he  saw 
an  unknown  land  and  resolved  to  reach  it.  Alexander  wept  for  another 
world  to  conquer,  but  his  tears  availed  not.  The  faith  of  Columbus  re 
vealed  that  other  world.  It  sustained  him  as  he  journeyed  from  court  to 
court,  seeking  sympathy  and  aid  in  his  glorious  scheme.  And  when  at 
midnight,  on  a  stormy  sea,  the  entire  crew,  and  all  the  officers  of  his  ship, 


16 

demanded  the  abandonment  of  a  voyage  which  seemed  so  utterly  hope 
less,  what  but  an  inextinguishable  faith  still  cheered  him,  and  assured  him 
that  in  three  days  his  toils  would  be  crowned  with  success  ?  What  would 
have  been  the  fate  of  this  nation,  amidst  the  struggles  of  the  Revolution, 
had  not  faith  sustained  our  forefathers  ?  And  thus  it  ever  is.  The  timid 
and  weak  believe  not,  because  they  see  not.  The  great  are  great,  they 
conquer,  because  they  believe.  Faith  ever  has  been,  and  must  be,  the 
strength  and  consolation  of  those  who  do  great  things.  In  all  grand  en 
terprises  we  may  say  with  truth,  "-According  to  your  faith  be  it  unto  you" 
".Blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed." 

As  patriots,  it  seems  to  me,  that  all  good  citizens  must  desire  to  pro 
mote  the  great  work  which  I  have  advocated.  If  the  North  and  South 
can  agree  in  so  sublime  an  enterprise,  not  only  must  the  selectest  blessings 
of  God  rest  upon  this  nation,  but  the  very  co-operation  would  bind  the 
members  of  this  Union  together  by  the  closest  and  most  delightful  bands. 
Instead  of  discord  and  strife,  how  pleasant  a  sight  to  see  brethren,  from 
every  portion  of  this  great  commonwealth,  consenting  to  make  disinterest 
ed  sacrifies ;  consulting;  as  to  the  best  means  of  atoning  for  the  wrongs  done 

*  cT  C  G 

by  their  forefathers  to  an  unoffending  race;  over  the  very  highway  once 
vexed  and  cursed  by  the  keel  of  the  slave  ship,  sending  our  stars  and 
stripes  to  restore  to  Africa  her  long  lost  children — and  restore  them,  not 
as  they  came,  utterl}*  imbruted,  but,  by  (rod's  blessing  overruling  the 
mercenary  spirit  of  man,  civilized,  enlightened,  converted  and  qualified 
to  regenerate  and  reclaim  that  degraded  continent. 

Mr.  Chairman,  such  a  scheme  would  perpetuate  this  great  Republic. 
Not  esto,  but  erit  perpetua  might  be  written  upon  the  noble  monument 
erecting  on  the  common  yonder.'-'  But,  sir,  if  something  practical  and 
effectual  be  not  done,  vainly  shall  we  cry,  'Peace,'  'Peace/  when  there  is 
no  peace.  As  the  Roman  augurs  explored  the  bowels  of  their  victims  for 
the  signs  of  coming  events,  so,  to  predict  the  future  destiny  of  a  nation, 
we  must  not  look  at  the  surface  of  society,  we  must  search  into  the  heart 
of  things,  we  must  study  the  hidden  principles,  and  motives,  and  feelings, 
of  the  people.  And,  looking  to  these,  no  one.  it  seems  to  me.  can  love  this 
country  much,  without  fearing  much. 

For  my  part,  born  at  the  South,  educated  at  the  North,  intimately  ac 
quainted  with  the  sentiments  of  the  South  and  North,  and  residing  where 
I  am  daily  in  contact  with  the  feelings  of  North  and  South,  I  utter  my 
most  solemn  convictions  when  I  say,  that  the  elements  of  danger,  the 
ignes  mppositi  cineri  doloso,  arc  under  our  feet.  Unless  something  be 
done,  this  Union  cannot,  I  fear,  be  saved  from  the  agitation  of  the  slavery 

0  The  Washington  Monument. 


17 

question,  and  (which  may  Heaven  avert!)  from  civil  conflict.  Your  days, 
sir,  are  almost  numbered.  Your  venerable  head  will  soon  be  reposing  in 
the  tomb,  and  the  shock  and  tumult  of  a  fratricidal  war  will  not  disturb 
your  long,  last,  sleep.  But  some  of  us  may  be  young  enough  to  see  that 
dismal  hour.  Unless  something  be  done,  the  noble  column  yonder  may 
rear  itself  to  heaven  only  to  have  inscribed  upon  it  the  epitaph  of  this 
nation.  Or  rather,  it  had  better  remain  as  it  is;  it  had  better  never  be 
completed.  It  had  better  be  left  like  those  unfinished  pillars  which  we 
see  in  our  grave  yards,  the  mutilated  shaft  telling  of  a  life  broken  off  in 
the  midst — its  hopes,  its  promises,  its  destiny,  all  suddenly  blasted. 

I  love  my  country,  I  love  this  Union.  May  God  spread  over  it  the 
banner  of  his  protection  !  But,  sir,  much  as  I  love  my  country,  I  finish 
by  repeating  what  I  said  before.  I  love  man  more.  And  it  is  as  one  of 
the  greatest  of  all  the  achievements  of  philanthropy,  that  I  most  ardently 
wish  success  to  Colonization.  In  this  view,  its  dignity,  its  sublimity, 
transcend  all  language,  all  thought.  Its  object  is  the  noblest  upon  earth. 
Statesmen  and  conquerors,  who  control  the  outward  policy  of  kingdoms, 
have  no  greatness  when  compared  with  the  humblest  individual  who  en 
lightens  and  saves  a  human  spirit.  Such  a  man  works  upon  imperishable 
materials,  and  works  for  eternity.  In  him  is  fulfilled  that  saying  of  the 
Redeemer,  •'  The  glory  which  thou  gavest  me,  have  I  given  them."  He 
shares  with  Jesus  his  most  resplendent  honor,  that  of  rescuing  and  regen 
erating  the  human  soul ;  of  raising  it  from  degradation  and  perdition  to 
an  ever-growing  immortality,  an  immortality  which  shall  still  be  expand 
ing  and  brightening  when  all  the  vain  records  of  this  earth  shall  have 
been  forgotten,  when  the  stars  shall  have  burned  out,  and  the  sun  itself 
shall  have  been  extinguished. 


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